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HARTFORD, Conn. — Becky Lynch is still Raw Women’s Champion, but Lacey Evans made a believer out of her. There is simply no other takeaway from the performance of Lynch’s relatively untested challenger for the red-hued half of Becky’s Two Belts, as Evans made good on months of trash talk to take The Man to the absolute limit. The battle left the champ-champ a shell of herself just seconds before Charlotte Flair strolled to the ring for Lynch’s second consecutive match of the night. That Becky managed to retain the Raw Women’s Title is a testament to her skills. That it took her so much to do so is a testament to Lacey’s.
Even the victory was something of a surprise, as Becky had suffered a coordinated assault on her left arm for nearly the entire duration of the match, all the better to take away the full strength of the Dis-Arm-Her. Evans’ mistake was gloating in her strategy too much; rubbing her handkerchief in The Man’s face fired up the Irishwoman and brought things back to an even keel. Evans didn’t even get within spitting distance of her fearsome Women’s Right after that, and Becky managed to get that Dis-Arm-Her locked in anyway, reversing a roll-up into the submission hold and earning a near-instant surrender from The Lady of WWE. It was, by any measure, a hard-fought victory, but “Becky Two Belts” was about to learn the hard way in her next bout that being a fighting champion comes with its drawbacks.